Michael has got into the routine of waking up at night every 2 hours to nurse. He doesn't even nurse that often during the day, but for some reason that is his nightly pattern. So after months of sleep deprivation, Daniel and I decided to bite the bullet and teach Michael how to sleep through the night.
So two nights ago we made our game plan. I would nurse Michael around 10:00 pm (his usual bedtime) and then I would not nurse him again until after 5:00 am. When he woke up, Daniel would go in and give him his binky and offer him a drink of water from a sippy (and check to make sure he was okay and didn't have a messy diaper or anything). Then he would leave the room. After 10 minutes, if Michael was still crying, Daniel would repeat the process. All the while I would stay in bed with a pillow over my head. We discussed the "what-ifs" and "buts" and finally felt like we had it all figured out.
That first night wasn't so bad. Michael woke up at midnight and cried until almost two (can I just say that Daniel is the most patient and loving man on the planet). After he went back to sleep, he slept until 6:00. I nursed him and then he slept until 8:30 am. All in all pretty good for the first night. I didn't know what to expect for the second night, but I hoped Michael wouldn't have to cry as long before he could get himself to sleep.
Once again he went down at 10:00 pm. It was a few minutes before midnight when he started to fuss. Daniel got up to give him his binky, but before he made it to Michael's room, Michael stopped crying (he had found his binky on his own). Daniel and I both looked at each other and raised our eyebrows. That was a first.
I headed to bed, totally expecting to hear him crying within the next few hours. Can you imagine my surprise when I looked at the clock at the first sounds of his fussing, and saw that it was 6:00 am. He slept the entire night!!! Miracles do happen. What a blessing. Last night was the first full nights sleep I have had in over a year. My body barely knew how to handle it.
Could it really be that easy? Here's hoping!
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4 comments:
I learned early on (out of sheer desperation) that I had to get these kids to sleep through the night. It's not a matter of me functioning well on little sleep- it's a matter of me not functioning at all. And I absolutely love the experience I've had to teach my babies to cope themselves because it's made them stronger kids and hopefully stronger young adults. Michael was able to find his own binky- he adapted- and he will be stronger for it. Conflict resolution skills can be taught at any age and they are definitely skills I want my kids to have when they go out into the world on their own. Good Job! I'm proud of you guys. It's a hard step to take no matter how many children you have.
lucky you. I will keep hoping for more miracles!
Way to go Michael! And Daniel for doing the work of back and forth, and Mom for not crying herself back to sleep! :o) Here's hoping for continued success.
Yeah!! That's so awesome! I hope it continues to be an easy process...and that you can catch up on your sleep. :)
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